How Many People Are Named Shirley?
An estimated 250,929 people in the United States have the first name Shirley. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #202 overall. It is predominantly female (98.6%). The average bearer is 74 years old, and Shirley peaked in popularity in 1935 with 42,800 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Shirley as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Shirley paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Shirley is overwhelmingly female, 9,551 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- With an average bearer age of 74, Shirley is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1962.
- Shirley has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1930s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
250,929
About 1 in 1,366 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Female
98.6% confidence
Average Age
74
years old
Peak Year
1935
42,800 births
Total Registered
695,797
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Shirley
Shirley is predominantly female (98.6%), though 9,551 male births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Shirley as a male name
Ranked #7,503 in 1993
7 male births in 1993
Peak: 1935 (435 births)
Shirley as a female name
Ranked #1,453 in 2024
151 female births in 2024
Peak: 1935 (42,365 births)
Shirley: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Shirley span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1930s, when 232,289 babies were registered. Shirley has declined significantly from its peak in the 1930s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Shirley by Decade
How has Shirley tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 301 | 122 | 179 | |
| 1890s | 710 | 175 | 535 | |
| 1900s | 1,926 | 216 | 1,710 | |
| 1910s | 13,998 | 1,256 | 12,742 | |
| 1920s | 100,901 | 2,300 | 98,601 | |
| 1930s | 232,289 | 2,911 | 229,378 | |
| 1940s | 173,253 | 1,473 | 171,780 | |
| 1950s | 109,429 | 622 | 108,807 | |
| 1960s | 38,386 | 309 | 38,077 | |
| 1970s | 10,623 | 103 | 10,520 | |
| 1980s | 5,125 | 52 | 5,073 | |
| 1990s | 3,704 | 12 | 3,692 | |
| 2000s | 2,734 | 0 | 2,734 | |
| 2010s | 1,752 | 0 | 1,752 | |
| 2020s | 666 | 0 | 666 | |
Shirley by State
Birth registrations for Shirley span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Pennsylvania, New York, Illinois. The lowest are in Alaska, Nevada, Delaware. On average, about 13,476 Shirleys were registered per state.
Shirley + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Shirley as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Shirley
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
Shirley: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shirley?
We estimate approximately 250,929 people named Shirley are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 1,366 Americans share this first name.
Is Shirley a common name?
Shirley is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.8% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 695,797 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Shirley most popular?
Shirley reached peak popularity in 1935, when 42,800 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Shirley is approximately 74 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Shirley a female name?
Shirley is predominantly female. 98.6% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Shirley Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Shirley Smith, Shirley Johnson, Shirley Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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